


Love Will Hold You Up

by SummerStormFlower



Series: happy hearts and souls [1]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blind Character, Blind Webby, Bullying, Deaf Character, Dysphoria, Family Fluff, Gen, Holly Duck, Honorary Duck Family Member Webby Vanderquack, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Peter Duck - Freeform, Phooey Duck exists, Phooey’s name is Peter, Sign Language, Swearing, Trans Huey Duck, Transphobia, girl Huey, quadruplets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23498734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerStormFlower/pseuds/SummerStormFlower
Summary: Sometimes it feels like hell to live in your own skin. But you fight for your happiness.
Relationships: Della Duck & Huey Duck, Dewey Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck, Dewey Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck & Phooey Duck, Donald Duck & Huey Duck, Huey Duck & Scrooge McDuck, Huey Duck & Webby Vanderquack
Series: happy hearts and souls [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1773076
Comments: 26
Kudos: 78





	Love Will Hold You Up

**Author's Note:**

> So I’ve ignored all my text messages for the past two days to write this. This just popped into my head and I had to write it.
> 
> Phooey Duck is in this because I wrote a little something about him and he ended up growing on me. His name is Peter.  
> And Huey goes by Holly.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

Dewey banged loudly on the bathroom door. “Holly! Get out of there already, you’ve been in there for over an hour!” he shouted. 

Holly scoffed in response, “I have not!”

Dewey gritted his teeth. “Well, it sure feels like it.”

“Would you just be patient? I’ll be out in a minute.”

“You’ve said that TEN TIMES ALREADY!”

“What IS your PROBLEM?!”

“I NEED TO PEE, OKAY!!”

“GO PEE IN THE OCEAN!!”

Dewey groaned in annoyance and sat down on the floor with an angry plop, crossing his arms and glaring at the wall. He loved his sister dearly, but some days he wished he could throw her overboard. 

Louie then appeared in the hallway, arching an eyebrow at Dewey. “What are you doing?”

“Waiting for Holly.”

Louie balked. “Still?”

Dewey nodded. “Yeah. She’s taking forever!” he shouted at the door again. 

They heard Holly sigh. “Lou, would you please tell him he’s being overdramatic?” she asked. 

“Actually,” Louie began, leaning against the wall, “You have been in there for awhile. I need to use the bathroom too.”

“I was here first!” exclaimed Dewey, “I have dibs!”

Louie gave him a challenging look. “We’ll see about that.”

Dewey glared determinedly at him. 

Then Peter turned down the hall and started walking towards them. 

{Don’t tell me you have to go too?} Dewey signed. 

{Yeah} Peter signed back. He blinked in confusion when both Dewey and Louie groaned. {Why?} he asked. 

{Holly’s in the bathroom} Louie told him. 

Peter’s eyes widened. {Still?}

Louie knocked on the bathroom door. “Seriously, Holly. Get out! We all need to go now.”

They were met with silence. 

Then suddenly, they heard a sniffle. 

Louie’s face immediately softened. “Holly, what’s wrong?” he asked gently. 

“Nothing. I’m fine,” Holly’s voice wobbled.

“Don’t lie,” Dewey said sternly. 

{What’s going on?} Peter asked. 

{Holly’s crying} Louie signed, and Peter frowned worriedly. 

Dewey stood up and leaned closer to the door. “Did someone make you cry?” he asked, already rolling up his sleeves and balling his fists. It didn’t matter that it was the middle of the night, he would go and beat up anyone who dared hurt his big sister at any time. 

“No. I just...” Holly gasped sharply, her sniffles turning into sobs now. 

{Does she need us to come in?} Peter asked. 

Louie looked at his hands, then relayed his question to their sister out loud. “Do you want us to come in, Holly?”

Holly hiccuped and blew her nose. “No.”

“C’mon, sis,” Dewey sighed, “Talk to us.”

“Please,” Louie added, “You know you can tell us anything.”

Holly didn’t say anything for a minute. Then she took a deep breath. “I look like a boy.” She began to sob again. 

Dewey and Louie shared a look. Louie turned to Peter and told him what Holly had said, and sadness clouded his eyes. 

Dewey dragged a hand through his hair, sighing heavily. “Holly...” he started, then stopped. He didn’t know what to say. 

Luckily, Louie did. “I know you don’t think so, Holly, but you are beautiful,” he said, “No matter what clothes you wear, or if you put makeup on, or you don’t, you’re still beautiful.”

Holly whimpered shakily. “But I—“

“I know it hurts you, sometimes, to look in the mirror,” Louie continued, “But you are not defined by what you look like. You are so much more than just a body.”

For a moment, Louie thought he might’ve made things worse. But then there was the sound of the door unlocking and Holly came out, red-eyed and her hair down. 

She smiled at her brother. “Thanks, Lou. I needed that,” she said. 

Louie smiled back and they hugged. Dewey and Peter soon joined in. 

“You feel better?” Dewey asked, slinging an arm around Holly and making her grin. 

“Yeah,” she replied. “I love you guys.”

{We love you too} Peter said with a smile. 

Holly sighed and yawned then, combing her fingers through her hair. “Okay, I’m going back to bed. Bathroom’s all yours,” she said with a sleepy smile, then headed to their room. 

Dewey, Louie and Peter looked at each other... then all three of them made a dash for the bathroom. 

•  
•

Holly will always remember when she came out to Uncle Donald.

She was overwhelmed with nerves, as she approached him on the deck. He spent a lot of time, staring out at the ocean after he lost yet another job.

She stopped to calm her racing heart. She was terrified. She honestly didn’t know what she’d do with herself if this went wrong. 

Finally, she gulped and took a deep breath. 

“Uncle Donald?”

Donald turned to her and gave her a small smile. “Hi, Huey.”

Holly tried not to cringe at the name. “Hey, um...” She fiddled with her fingers. “I-I need t-to tell you something,” she tried not to stutter, but her voice still shook. 

Donald gestured for her to come stand beside him. She did and he wrapped an arm around her. They gazed at the ocean, sparkling crystal blue. 

“What is it?” Uncle Donald asked gently.

Holly’s chest tightened and her skin began to burn. She swallowed, feeling like her heart was in her throat, and tried to breathe, but it came out choppy. 

“Huey,” Donald said.

Holly cringed at the name this time. 

Donald noticed and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Honey,” he said instead, “you can always tell me anything.”

Holly looked up at him, blinking her teary eyes rapidly. “Will you still love me?”

Donald turned to face her fully, putting both his hands on her shoulders. “There is nothing you could say or do that would make me stop loving you,” he said with conviction. His eyes gleamed with so much sincerity and all the love in the universe, Holly had no choice but to believe him. 

Her nerves settled. A little. Then finally, she gathered the courage to speak. 

“I’m a girl.”

She waited for Uncle Donald’s response with baited breath. 

After a moment, Uncle Donald smiled warmly at her, his face full of love. So much love, it was enough to cover every inch of Holly and her brothers. 

“Okay,” was all he said. 

And Holly started crying out of happiness. 

Donald embraced her and hugged her tight. “I’m so proud of you for telling me,” he whispered in her ear, pressing his smile into her hair. 

And Holly was proud of herself too.

•  
•

Bullies were bad before Holly changed her name. It just got worse after she wore a skirt to school for the first time. Looks and names were thrown at her everywhere she went.

Hawk Martins was the worst of them all.

“Hey, freak.”

Holly cried out when he yanked a handful of her hair. 

“When you gonna stop playing pretend and cut this ugly mop?”

But Holly never had to be afraid. She had the three best bodyguards in the whole world. 

Dewey was there first, pushing Hawk away from her. 

“Shut the fuck up, dude!” he growled, standing protectively in front of Holly. 

Hawk glared at him. “What’d you say to me?”

“I said, shut your fucking trap,” Dewey spat angrily, “Didn’t you hear me?”

Hawk shoved him. “Stay out of this, twerp. This got nothing to do with you.”

Dewey shoved him back, harder. “It’s my sister. It’s got everything to do with me!”

“Sister?” Hawk laughed. He pointed at Holly. “You mean that fucking tranny?”

Although Holly felt like a knife had just plunged into her chest, she grabbed Dewey’s shirt before he could charge at him. 

“No, we mean our sister.” And then Louie was there. “And what an outdated insult,” he smirked, “Does anyone even say that anymore?”

Hawk’s expression twisted dangerously. “Look, it doesn’t matter what you say,” he said, “Your so-called sister is still a freak in a dress.”

The knife pressed even deeper into Holly’s chest. But she bit her tongue and tightened her grip on Dewey when he snarled and tried to lunge again. 

“Why you—“

Louie put a calm hand on Dewey’s shoulder. Dewey looked at him and stopped. Louie then stepped forward. 

“I’m surprised by how much you enjoy making fun of others. Now why is that, Hawk?” he said slowly, almost lazily. But Dewey saw his fists shaking in his pocket. “Is it because of your own identity issues?” he asked. 

Hawk spluttered. Then he clenched his jaw. “Shut up!” he bellowed, “I know who I am!”

Louie gave him an icy glare. “No, you don’t. You don’t have a fucking clue,” he bit sharply, “That’s why you’re jealous of Holly for being brave enough to show off who she is.”

A smile graced Holly’s face as her brother kept speaking. 

“You wanna know her secret?” Louie asked, “She’s not like you. She’s proud of who she is.”

Hawk’s shoulders shook and he rolled up his sleeve, taking a threatening step towards Louie. “You—“

Holly immediately let go of Dewey. 

Dewey shoved Hawk back so hard, he nearly barrelled into the lockers. “Don’t touch him!” Dewey yelled at him, and Louie flashed his big brother a grateful grin. 

Hawk stumbled backwards, fear seeping into his face. He huffed. “All of you are freaks.”

“No.” Dewey shook his head, his eyes burning holes through Hawk’s skull. “You’re just ignorant.”

“By the way,” smirked Louie, “You should look behind you.”

Hawk blinked. “Wha—“ He turned around. 

And Peter was there, splashing a bottle of water in his face. 

Warmth blossomed in Holly’s chest and she couldn’t help her pleased grin. Dewey and Louie burst into laughter, hanging off of each other. Peter smirked deviously, his eyes twinkling. 

Hawk rubbed at his face, spluttering and coughing. This only made Dewey and Louie laugh harder. He blushed furiously and scampered away, throughly embarrassed. 

Dewey and Louie’s laughter slowly died down and both of them sighed, Louie leaning his chin on Dewey’s shoulder comfortably. 

“Nice timing, Pete,” Louie said, giving him a thumbs up. 

Peter read his lips, then smiled at him and returned the thumbs up. Dewey held up his hand with an expectant grin and Peter gave him a high five. 

“Man, that was awesome,” Dewey said and signed at the same time. 

“Yeah,” Louie agreed with a satisfied sigh. 

Peter smiled at them and nodded his own agreement. 

Then Dewey gasped. “We should totally do stuff like this more often!”

Louie laughed at that and Peter rolled his eyes. 

Holly watched them warmly, feeling like her heart had just grew six sizes bigger. She dried the damp corners of her eyes, smiling so wide her face hurt. The knife in her chest was gone, replaced with roses and gold. She felt important. She felt loved. 

“Thanks guys,” she said emotionally. 

{No one messes with our family} Peter responded. 

Her brothers smiled at her and Holly’s heart overflowed with love. 

•  
•

She was freaking out. She was literally panicking. 

Uncle Scrooge was taking them to their first formal party. Louie was looking forward to socializing with the rich kids. Peter didn’t particularly care. Dewey was not at all pleased. Holly was excited. 

No, that wasn’t right, she was absolutely ecstatic. She could not wait. Uncle Donald had saved up to buy her a fancy ballgown for the occasion. It was the most beautiful thing Holly had ever seen and she was thrilled to wear it. 

Or she had been. 

But her dysphoria decided to show up that evening, flaring up in her gut with a burning intensity and cutting her up from the inside. It filled her with self-loathing every time she looked in the mirror. She tried fixing her hair, putting makeup on, putting jewelry on, taking it all off. But no matter how many times she looked at her reflection, it strangled her.

So she was freaking out, sobbing violently, as she brushed her hair for the twelfth time. 

And that was how Uncle Scrooge found her. 

“Oh dear. What’s wrong, lassie?” he asked in concern, standing awkwardly in her doorway. 

Holly scrubbed at her face, hiccuping. “N-nothing,” she gasped. She tried to stop crying, she really did. But when she caught a glimpse of her reflection again, a fresh wave of tears flooded her eyes. 

“You’re upset. It’s not nothing,” Scrooge said. 

Holly sniffled. She hated this. She wished she could just be normal. 

Scrooge drummed his fingers on his cane. “May I come in?”

“You don’t have to ask, Uncle Scrooge.”

“Oh, no, no,” Uncle Scrooge disagreed, shaking his head like the idea was taboo to him. “It’s disrespectful to enter a lady’s bedroom without her permission.”

That made Holly smile a little. Her brothers usually just barged in whenever they wanted. “Okay,” she said, “You may come in, Uncle Scrooge.”

Scrooge went and stood behind her chair. “Do you not like the dress?” he asked. 

“No!” Holly quickly said. She loved the dress with all her heart and was extremely grateful to Uncle Donald for buying it for her. “It’s not...” she gulped, rubbing at her eyes before more tears could take form. “It’s me.”

Uncle Scrooge didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he picked up Holly’s hairbrush and grabbed one of her ponytails, knowing Holly liked ponytails. He started brushing her hair up.

“Take a look at yourself,” Scrooge told her, “Tell me what you see.”

Holly sighed and reluctantly looked in the mirror. She glared. “I see an ugly boy in a dress.”

Scrooge set her hairbrush down and tugged on her ponytail a little. Then he kneeled beside her, wrapping a warm arm around her. 

“Do you know what I see?”

Holly looked at him curiously. 

“I see your mother’s daughter.”

Holly inhaled. “You do?”

“Aye,” Uncle Scrooge said, hugging her close, “She would’ve thought you were amazing.”

Holly smiled slowly. “Really?”

Scrooge squeezed her shoulder and kissed her cheek. “Really.”

Holly looked at her reflection... and instead of seeing an ugly boy, she just saw her. She saw herself. And she didn’t think she looked too bad. 

“Do you still want to go to the party?” Uncle Scrooge asked. 

Holly smiled, feeling more confident than before. “Yeah.” She stood up. 

“Are you sure?” asked Scrooge. 

Holly nodded, eyes gleaming with bravery. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Scrooge gave her a soft, nostalgic smile. “You truly are your mother’s daughter.”

Holly beamed happily. Then she grabbed Uncle Scrooge’s hand and they headed to the front door where her brothers were waiting for them. 

•  
•

One of Holly’s favourite things about Webby was how daring she was. Holly didn’t think of herself as very daring, so she admired Webby for it. 

Webby disagreed. 

As a result of Holly’s brothers getting on her nerves, they were having a girls-only sleepover. Not that Holly didn’t love her brothers, but it was nice to get away from them every now and then. And Webby was great company. 

“You know,” Holly began, Webby humming beside her, “Sometimes I envy you.”

Webby moved around, accidentally hitting Holly in the face. Even at bedtime, she could never quite stay still. “Why?” she asked. 

Holly knew she couldn’t see her, but she turned to look at her anyways. “Because you’re so brave,” she said, “You never back down from anything. You run right into a challenge.”

Webby laughed, snorting a little. “Oh, trust me. I’m not brave.”

Holly blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Webby was facing the ceiling, but her eyes weren’t focused on it. “I’m always scared,” she admitted. She waved a hand in front of her unfocused eyes. “I never know if I’m going to trip, or go the wrong way, or bump into something, or walk into traffic. And that’s scary.”

Holly curled up under the blankets, slipping an arm under her pillow. “Then why are you always running into danger?”

Webby turned towards her voice and smiled at her. “Because it makes me feel brave.”

Holly hesitated, rolling the words around in her mind. Then she asked, “What’s it like?”

Webby hummed thoughtfully. “Well, there’s a lot of noises. Even when it’s silent. There’s still little noises. And so many smells.” She reached over and pulled on Holly’s shirt, shoving her nose in it. “You always smell like saltwater.”

Holly hesitated again. Then she asked, “Do you ever wish—“

“Yes,” Webby replied, “All the time.”

They were quiet after that, Webby playing with Holly’s hair. Holly yawned, eyelids drooping. 

“You know,” Webby then began, “I think you’re brave.”

Holly blinked sleepily. “Why?”

Webby moved her hand around, accidentally hitting Holly in the nose. Holly was used to it. Webby then found her wrist, giving it a squeeze.

“Because you don’t hide who you are from the world.”

Holly laughed quietly. “Trust me. I’m not brave.”

Webby traced the lines on her palm. “Then why do you walk with your head held high?”

Holly smiled. “Because it makes me feel brave.”

•  
•

Holly couldn’t move. She was frozen. She was frozen because her mom was right in front of her. 

Her mom. Her mom was alive and she was right there. Her mom was real and she was right there. 

So Holly was frozen. 

Dewey had dived right into Della’s arms, tackling her to the ground. He was laughing and crying. Della was too. 

Peter was next. He gulped and signed, his hands shaking so badly, he could hardly sign properly. Their mother smiled warmly at him and signed back. A huge grin lit up Peter’s face and he jumped into her embrace. 

Then was Louie, stuttering, stumbling, and sobbing in disbelief. Della approached him slowly and knelt down in front of him, gently cupping his face in her soft hands. Her touch reassuring him that she was real. Louie cried out joyfully and flung his arms around her neck. She hugged him back just as tightly, kissing his cheeks, his forehead, and nose, and all over his face. 

And then she looked at Holly. 

Holly’s heart lodged in her throat. All she could think of was how Della had struggled to get back to her four baby boys for more than a decade. How she had dreamed about her four baby boys. 

And now there was only three of them. 

Holly was terrified. What if her mom didn’t want a daughter? What if she rejected her? What if she hated her? What if—

Then Della laughed blissfully, tears filling her eyes again. “I have a little girl!” she cried with so much happiness, she could paint the entire sky with it. “I have a beautiful little girl! A gorgeous, beautiful little girl!”

Holly’s fear dispelled immediately, relief and joy washing over her whole heart. Her feet moved automatically. Before she knew it, she was wrapped up in her mother’s arms. The arms she’d been dreaming of for thirteen long years.

And it felt even better than she’d imagined.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.
> 
> Take care of and love yourselves And remember to love your body too, even when it's hard. ❤️


End file.
